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UPDATED: Sat., June 17, 2017, 8:29 p.m.

Republican Karen Handel campaigns at a restaurant in Johns Creek, Ga., Friday, June 16, 2017, ahead of a runoff election to replace former Rep. Tom Price. Democrat Jon Ossoff is trying for an upset over Handel in the GOP-leaning 6th Congressional District that stretches across greater Atlantas northern suburbs. (Alex Sanz / Associated Press)

CHAMBLEE, Ga. Trying to stave off a major upset ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, two of President Donald Trumps Cabinet officers returned to Atlantas traditionally conservative suburbs and urged Republican voters to maintain the GOPs monopoly control in Washington.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a former two-term Georgia governor, took sharp aim at Republican Karen Handels opponent in Tuesdays runoff election, 30-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff, who has raised more than $23 million from people around the country hoping for a victory that could turn the tide on Trump.

This is a race for the heart and soul for America, Perdue told Handel supporters, casting Ossoff as a puppet of national Democrats and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

The leftists have gone and typecast and theyve picked this young man charismatic, articulate and theyve taught him a few Republican buzzwords, Perdue said. They think he can fool you. Its not gonna happen.

But it very well may, with polls showing a tossup in Georgias 6th Congressional District, where Republicans usually coast.

Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional aide, has aimed at the center, usually avoiding even mentioning Trumps name. But he was campaigning Saturday with civil rights icon John Lewis, the Atlanta congressman from the neighboring 5th District whose criticism of Trump recently drew a slew of presidential tweets.

The candidates choices on the final weekend of campaigning reflect their expectations of a razor-thin margin that will turn as much on core partisans as on persuading moderates and independents.

The results will be seen as a measure of how voters feel about Republican leadership months into the Trump presidency. Trump barely won this well-educated, affluent district in November, despite previous Republican nominees here eclipsing 60 percent.

Perdue defended Trump as a true populist, but acknowledged that even some Republicans are turned off by him.

Health Secretary Tom Price, whose resignation to join Trumps Cabinet prompted this special election, urged voters to have a crazy turnout on Handels behalf. He reminded his former constituents of the districts GOP pedigree, electing eventual Speaker Newt Gingrich and future U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson before sending Price to Washington for 12 years.

Handel made a similar appeal to honor the districts legacy. She said voters know me from stints as secretary of state and commission chairman of Georgias most populous county.

Ossoff and Handel insist their matchup recognized as the most expensive House race in U.S. history because of money from outside the district is not about the dynamics on Capitol Hill. But Perdue flatly disputed them, calling the election a harbinger of national politics as Handel looked on.

Democrats and liberal activists nationally hope to show they can flip the 24 GOP-held seats they would need to reclaim a House majority next November. They argue Ossoffs near-win in the first round already bodes well for Democrats running in other suburban districts where Republicans dont start with such a fundamental advantage.

There are 23 GOP-held House districts around the country where Trump actually lost to Hillary Clinton.

Handel raised slightly more than $5 million, less than a quarter of Ossoffs total, but national political action and campaign committees aligned with both parties have spent big as well: $7 million from a PAC backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan; about $4.5 million from Republicans House campaign arm, and another $6 million from the Democrats House campaign committee.

Ossoffs television ads target swing voters and disaffected Republicans, promising an independent voice and lambasting wasteful spending by both parties in Washington. But his day-to-day campaign operation has focused more on the Democrats main coalition: young voters, nonwhites and women.

Ossoff also has sought to make health care a defining issue, even before Prices return to the district.

Ossoff says the House Republican health care bill punishes working-class households that gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and would gut consumer protections for individuals with previous maladies in their medical history.

Handel says the Senate can make improvements, but shed have voted for the House-passed version. She rejects the Congressional Budget Office estimate that 23 million Americans could lose coverage under Republicans plan, and she insists the bill protects those with pre-existing conditions.

The bill declares that insurers cannot deny coverage based on patient history a point central to Handels claims. But the proposal also would allow states to obtain waivers that would jettison existing prohibitions on charging more for patients based on their individual history and risk.

Ossoff says removing that cost protection makes any coverage guarantee useless, because policies would become unaffordable, particularly given the Republicans proposal to roll back premium subsidies that are a primary feature of the 2010 law.

Handel has reacted angrily to Ossoffs assertions, emotionally telling the story of her sister, whom she describes as being born with a severe birth defect requiring costly care. I would never do anything that would hurt my sister, she says.

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Trump Cabinet officers urge on Republicans in Georgia race - The Spokesman-Review

President Donald Trump is not a target of the ongoing investigation into Russian tampering in the U.S. election, Trumps lawyer said Sunday after the president tweeted he was under investigation two days earlier.

I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt, Trump tweeted on June 16.

But thats not exactly the truth, Trumps personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, said during an appearance on CNNs Face the Nation Sunday. The fact of the matter is the president has not been and is not under investigation, Sekulow said.

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There has been no notification from the special counsel's office that the president is under investigation, he said.

Republican allies defended the presidents pugnacious attitude in wanting to hit back against allegations that he obstructed justice, while other GOP senators suggested that the president should allow the Russia investigation to proceed without interruption.

Last week the The Post reported that the president is being investigated by Robert Mueller, the Russia investigations special counsel, for obstruction of justice. The investigation concerns the circumstances around the May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey. Trump previously said that he fired Comey because of the investigation into alleged Russian tampering in the election, which the president dismissed as a hoax.

Donald Trump at a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 12, 2017. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty

Americas intelligence agencies concluded in a January report that Russia took action to influence the election in favor of Trump. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis all concurred with the reports findings.

Read more: Pence will soon be president if Trump fires Mueller, says Bush lawyer

During testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, Comey testified that he felt pressured by Trump to drop an investigation into the presidents top national security adviser Michael Flynns links with Russia.

Comey testified in Congress in March that the FBI was looking at whether Trumps election campaign colluded with Russian agents. Comey testified in early June that he is sure investigators are looking at whether Trump obstructed justice.

"Trump has a compulsion to counter attack, said Trump strategist and former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich on ABC News This Week Sunday. I don't think it serves him well. I don't think that tweet helped him. But it's who he's been his whole life.

Republican Marco Rubio, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee which is carrying out one of two core congressional investigations into Russias alleged election interference said that the president would be wise to let the investigation to proceed unhindered.

"It is in the best interest of the president and the country to have a full investigation, Rubio said, adding that it was not a witch hunt as Trump suggested in several tweets.

"If I were the president I would be welcoming this investigation. I would ask that it be thorough and completed expeditiously and be very cooperative with it," Rubio said. I think that it's in the best interest of our country that we have a full scale investigation that looks at everything.

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Republicans Divided Over Trump's Tweet That he Is Under Investigation - Newsweek

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders address Brooklyn Colleges graduates during their commencement ceremony on May 30, 2017, in New York. Sanders urged graduates to stand together and not let demagogues divide the country. CREDIT: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday blasted his Republican colleagues for secretly negotiating their Obamacare replacement bill behind closed doors and without public scrutiny, calling on Democrats to take a stand against the legislation.

This is completely unacceptable, Sanders told CBS Face the Nation host John Dickerson. Nobody can defend a process, which will impact tens of millions of Americans, and nobody even knows whats in the [legislation]...The reason they dont want to bring it public is because its a disastrous bill, I suspect similar to what passed in the House.

The outcome of the secret negotiations would impact about one sixth of the American economy, pointed out Sanders, who similarly slammed the House bill, which passed in May.

It was the worst piece of legislation, frankly, against working class people that I can remember in my political life in the Congress. Throwing 23 million people off of health insurance is beyond belief, said Sanders.

As ThinkProgress reporter Amanda Michelle Gomez reported earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is rushing to bring the Republican health care bill before the Senate for a vote by July 4, before Congress leaves for August recess.

To that end, McConnell fast-tracked the health bill by implementing Senate Rule 14, which allows the Senate to bypass the committee processand thus a full committee debateby placing it on the senate calendar for a vote.

Even many Republicans are being kept in the dark said Sanders, noting that this tactic underscores issues with the bill that Republicans would have difficulty defending, such as cutting Medicaid in favor of giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

So they want to keep it secret, they dont want the media involved, they dont want members of Congress involved, Sanders told Dickerson. And at the last minute they present it, they push it through and that is one sixth of the American economy and millions of people thrown off of health insurance. That is unacceptable.

The closed-door process has Republicans concerned as well.

Ive said from Day 1, and Ill say it again, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, told the New York Times. The process is better if you do it in public, and that people get buy-in along the way and understand whats going on. Obviously, thats not the route that is being taken.

McConnell defended his approach, telling the New York Times there have been gazillions of hearings on this subject over the years.

For Sanders, the only solution is full transparency, and on Sunday he called on Democrats to do everything they can to oppose the Senate bill.

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Bernie Sanders calls out Senate Republicans for secrecy surrounding health care negotiations - ThinkProgress

Sometimes the irony is so thick, you cant cut it with a laser.

House Republicans had long planned to hold a hearing on June 14 on a National Rifle Association bill that would make it far easier for gun owners to buy silencers. The so-called Hearing Protection Act (I kid you not) was all set for subcommittee scrutiny until news broke about the Field of Screams.

Having tallied the wounded this was the 195th mass shooting of the year Republicans speedily canceled the gun silencer hearing, deeming it inappropriate. Given the circumstances, and all that.

But then it occurred to me: If our latest angry white guy, newly dead James Hodginkson, had been free to fit a silencer on his easily obtained killing machine, wouldnt that have slowed the reaction time of the Republican ballplayers and the cops whod accompanied them? If hed sprayed his bullets with a silencer attached, wouldnt there have been an enhanced risk of far more casualties?

And if the next angry white guy, and the ones after that, are free to do the same, wont that ratchet up the death toll?

Its futile to even ask such questions, of course, because America is terminally locked and loaded.

Rest assured that after Republicans dry their tears about House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and the other wounded souls, theyll get back to the NRAs business. The gun silencer hearing will be held.

Another NRA bill, which would allow people who live in states with lax gun laws to pack their concealed-carry heat in states with strict gun laws, is waiting in the wings.

And Republicans, with President Donald Trumps help, have already made it easier for some fugitives and mentally impaired people to buy guns.

Republicans did indeed shed tears Wednesday understandably so for their wounded allies and colleagues.

But in their grief, perhaps it would also have been appropriate to ask themselves: How come a guy with a history of violence had a gun license and an assault weapon?

Hodgkinson, by all accounts, was an unhinged lefty extremist who hated Republicans just a variation of the unhinged right-wing extremists who hate lefties and Democrats. What all these people have in common is a profound sense of alienation and a propensity for violence.

Their anger not ideology is their prime motivator. Hodginkson fit the profile perfectly.

In Hodgkinsons home state of Illinois (prior to his recent move to Alexandria, Va., where he spent weeks stalking the ballfield), he racked up a string of offenses damaging a motor vehicle, resisting police, criminally damaging property, driving under the influence, discharging a firearm (he was shooting at trees across a neighbors property while the neighbor was outside with his grandchildren), assaulting a neighboring girl (punching her with a closed fist), threatening a neighbor with a shotgun, and assaulting his foster daughter (which led to his arrest on a domestic violence charge).

In court, he screamed at the judge. But the judge dismissed the case after a witness mixed up the court date and failed to appear.

In virtually any other Western nation, Hodgkinson, with all his red flags, wouldve been denied a gun permit. But in America, he was good for it.

He also obtained an automatic weapon, the kind that civilians typically cant get in most western nations. But in America, he was good for it.

Because its considered important to protect the gun rights of people like him.

In America, the marketing of mass-destruction weaponry is simply good business.

Hodgkinsons weapon of choice was reportedly an M4, or similar to it. The manufacturers selling spiel for the M4 goes like this: The M4 can be comfortably carried, yet be instantly available to provide ... firepower, dependability and accuracy. Proven in military combat operations all over the world, it is in a class by itself as a first-rate combat weapon system.

But theres no way Republicans will connect these dots. Roughly 30 Americans die each day in gun homicides, but thats deemed acceptable collateral damage.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., one of the congressmen who escaped the ballfield assault without injury, conceded that the Second Amendment has some adverse aspects, but said that gun rights are fundamental to our being the greatest nation in world history.

And as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., declared in a tweet last year, Why do we have a Second Amendment? Its not to shoot deer. Its to shoot at the government when it becomes tyrannical!

Well, thats precisely what Hodgkinson thought he was doing. Its just a shame that NRA politicians make it so easy for people like him.

And when Scalise recovers from his wounds, rest assured that hell continue to toe the line. After all, his NRA rating is A-Plus.

Dick Polman is the national political columnist at NewsWorks/WHYY in Philadelphia, a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania and is syndicated by Cagle Cartoons. Email him at [emailprotected] and follow him on Twitter: @DickPolman1. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

Excerpt from:
Dick Polman: Are Republicans Brave Enough to Play Ball on Gun Control? - Noozhawk

Charlottesville City Councilor Bob Fenwicks defeat in the Democratic primary this past Tuesday raises the stakes for progressives who are worried that if the two Democratic council nominees are elected, City Council will not do enough to alleviate poverty and prevent gentrification.

Fenwick said Thursday that the election was a referendum on his tie-breaking vote to remove the citys statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

While the statue vote may have negatively affected Fenwick, other candidates and political activists are looking at other issues and raising concerns about the direction the city could take if the two Democratic nominees newcomers Amy Laufer and Heather Hill are elected to office on Nov. 8.

Nikuyah Walker, an independent candidate for the council, said Tuesday that she anticipated Fenwick would lose because of his skepticism of high-density urban development, consultants and urban planning initiatives. Walker said Fenwick was the only candidate she voted for in the primary.

Later that night, another independent candidate, Nancy Carpenter, said on Twitter that Laufer and Hill will plaster the city with luxury high-rises and leave the working class and poor behind.

Though Carpenter filed to run, she did not qualify to be on the ballot. In addition, previously announced independent candidates Clifford Hall and Dale Woodson also ended up not qualifying.

That leaves Walker, Kenneth Jackson, Cassie Clawson, Paul Long and John Edward Hall as the independents who also will be on the ballot come November, seeking to fill two open seats on the five-member council. No Republican candidates have filed to run in this years council election.

The independents presence could heighten the drama going into the general election, as Fenwicks loss by more than 1,800 votes despite the endorsement of a local progressive group may have signaled that most voters will continue to look toward more moderate-leaning Democrats for leadership.

At least at this stage, the primary voters seemed to have made a pretty clear choice, Mayor Mike Signer said Tuesday after it became clear that Hill and Laufer would win.

Former Mayor Dave Norris, however, does not think Fenwicks loss should be seen as a referendum on the local progressive movement. Norris said the statue controversy might have played a part in his loss.

I think Bob lost because I think theres a lot of frustration in the city right now. They took it out on Bob, he said. Norris added that he thinks Laufer and Hill, who are more progressive than Bob on some issues, did a better job of campaigning and fundraising.

Its a heavily Democratic community, but it isnt monolithic, Norris said. November is going to be very interesting. Itll be the first time in many years, I think, there will be a chance for an independent candidate to break through.

In the 2015 Democratic primary for the City Council, three seats were up for grabs. Signer, Wes Bellamy and incumbent Kathy Galvin were nominated and went on to win in November while another incumbent, Dede Smith, fell short by 222 votes.

Hell probably see the same fate, Walker said of Fenwick on Tuesday as she was canvassing for commonwealths attorney candidate Jeff Fogel, a far-left candidate who fell short of the Democratic nomination Tuesday.

In the 2015 primary, Bellamy received 2,483 votes, nearly 30 percent of all votes. Signer, Galvin and Smith received between 1,600 and 1,855 votes a range of 19 percent to 22 percent of the votes. A fifth candidate that year, Lena Seville, received 651 votes, or 7.7 percent.

We know why Dede lost, Walker said. She was becoming more forceful she was becoming more concerned about environmental and housing issues.

[Democrats] want their people to follow the status quo, and she didnt do that, she said.

Earlier this year, Smith and several other progressive activists and former politicians, including Walker and Norris, helped to create Equity and Progress in Charlottesville. Norris stepped down from the groups steering committee about a month ago to focus on his personal life, he said last week.

EPiC quickly established a political platform focused on social and racial equity, economic opportunity and government accountability.

At a May Democratic candidate forum hosted by EPiC, organizers and observers were frustrated that Laufer and Hill declined to make commitments to building 1,000 new affordable housing units in the city and increasing the living wage for city employees to $15 an hour.

Progressives also were disappointed that the two hesitated to state outright whether they support the Black Lives Matter movement, and that they declined to answer a question about whether the citys Human Rights Commission should have more authority to investigate alleged human rights violations. At that forum, Hill and Laufer said Black lives matter after some pushback from the audience.

Other activists have been skeptical of how much money the two nominees raised.

According to finance reports, Hill and Laufer had outraised Fenwick who received just $4,047 by a ratio of about five to one by June 1.

Geoff Skelley, a political pundit with the University of Virginias Center for Politics, said Fenwicks admittedly lax attitude toward fundraising may have played a role in his loss.

Its hard in politics to win without competitively fundraising, Skelley said.

Of the $21,376 contributed to Laufers campaign, nearly $8,400 came from the real estate and construction sector, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Her largest donors included her husband, Aharon Laufer (who donated $2,015), and Barbara Fried (who donated $2,500). Both are involved in local real estate development.

Hill received $22,838 in campaign contributions about $8,000 came from the retail and service industry nearly a third of which was in in-kind contributions from Robert Radifera Photography. She also received about $4,000 from family members.

Last month, EPiC announced its endorsements for Fenwick and Fogel in their respective races.

All three of the candidates for City Council seemed fine to me. My decisions were based on Bob Fenwicks endorsements, primarily, said Kevin Rose, a UVa graduate student.

Similar to Democrat Ross Mittiga, who lost in the primary to incumbent David J. Toscano in his bid for the nomination for the 57th District House of Delegates seat, Rose is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Rose said he became involved with the local DSA chapter after moving to Charlottesville last year.

Toscano received 5,300 votes Tuesday, or 65 percent of the vote. It was the first time Toscano had faced a primary challenger since he first ran for the seat in 2005.

After casting his ballot at Johnson Elementary School on Tuesday, Rose said he was primarily interested in the vision Mittiga has been trying to attach to the primary to move the Democratic Party in Richmond further left in a more progressive direction.

Although he said he voted for Tom Perriello, who lost in his populist-style gubernatorial primary campaign against Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam on Tuesday, Rose said Perriellos endorsement of Laufer was not a big factor in his decision to vote for her.

Doing research about Laufer and Hill, I found that Laufer had more concrete plans on her website. Thats what it came down to for me, he said. She outlined specific plans based on her experience in the school system.

Laufer, a member of the citys School Board, was the top vote-getter Tuesday, securing nearly 50 percent of the vote.

Though Perriello lost, receiving 44 percent of vote statewide, he did well in the Charlottesville area, where he is from, claiming as much as 80 percent of the vote.

Skelley said the Perriello endorsement certainly didnt hurt [Laufer]. He credited her primary win to her campaigning and fundraising efforts.

Skelley added that the frustration with the status quo on the City Council also may have given her and Hill an edge over Fenwick.

While Hill and Laufer have been cast by some progressive activists as too moderate, Laufer said in an interview last month that she feels her School Board record and campaign proposal to offer free tuition to Piedmont Virginia Community College for qualified Charlottesville High School students exemplify her progressive policy-making.

In my opinion, what I was talking about really resonated with people, Laufer said.

Laufer and Hill also have said they will work to address affordable housing issues. Hill said she wants to work with more individuals and groups to find ways to develop more affordable housing in the city for low- and middle-income earners.

Hill said the community needs to work together to make sure that the citys 2018 Comprehensive Plan and future zoning changes will be drafted in a way that will protect neighborhoods and encourage the development of affordable housing.

Effectively balancing these needs of the community is not an easy task, she said, but it is certainly one I am committed to if elected.

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With primary past, city progressives set sights on upset - The Daily Progress